1. Do Now: Analyze the photograph on slide 2, what do you see?
Learning Target: I can analyze primary sources to determine the importance of the Transcontinental Railroad for the United States.
Do Now: Analyze the photograph on slide 2, what do you see?

2. “Swinging near the cliff, Ah Goong… dug holes, then inserted gunpowder and fuses… The basketman signaled one another to light the fuses… The basketman signaled one another to light the fuses. He struck match after match and dropped the burnt matches over the sides. At last his fuse caught; he waved, and the men above pulled hand over hand hauling him up, pulleys creaking.”
-Maxine Hong Kingston, China Men

3. Analyze the following photograph:

4. Transcontinental Railroad
In 1862, the Pacific Railroad Act chartered the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies, and tasked them to build a transcontinental railroad that would link the U.S. from east to west, help ship goods/products, & travel.
The two companies would race toward each other from Sacramento, California on the one side and Omaha, Nebraska on the other
Both struggled against great risks before they met at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869.

5. How was the Transcontinental Railroad Built?
Finding and keeping workers was a tough task due to the difficulty of the labor.
Central Pacific hired Chinese laborers, as many as 14,000 were working on the rail line.
Union Pacific hired Irish immigrants and Civil War veterans.
To blast through the mountains Central Pacific used gunpowder and nitroglycerine.

6. Activity
Today we will be watching a video on the Transcontinental Railroad “THIS IS AMERICA CHARLIE BROWN: THE BUILDING OF THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD”
Answer the following guided questions as you watch the video:
What were the difficulties involved in building the transcontinental railroad?
How was the pacific rail line at an unfair advantage compared to the Central Railway company?
Why was the railroad built beginning on each side of the country, working toward a meeting in the middle?
Why was each line racing to lay track?
Video Link-

7. Essential Question Exit Slip
How did the Transcontinental Railroad impact the United States?

8. Answer the following questions:
1.) What companies were used to complete the Transcontinental Railroad?
2.) How did the U.S. Government motivate the two companies two complete the railroad project?
3.) What groups of people were used to complete the Transcontinental Railroad?
4.) What was the purpose of the Transcontinental Railroad?